Today Blockbuster announced its newBlockbuster by Mail plan that allows subscribers to rent movies ONLY by mail.

The plan options all cost $1 less than Blockbuster’s Total Access. For example: Blockbuster Total Access costs $17.99 per month for the 3 DVD plan, the same plan on Blockbuster by Mail now costs $16.99 per month.

For the extra $1 difference you can opt out from returning movies to the store. Since the difference is only $1, most people will probably sign up for the Total Access plan for the flexibility of exchanging movies in-store. However, this plan might be popular for people who do not live near a Blockbuster store, would not use the in-store service, or people who are very price conscious (and want the lowest $4.99 limited plan).

Blockbuster has seen a loss of $46.5 million in its first quarter due to its strategy to acquire Netflix customers. Many users have indeed switched, but it remains to be seen if Blockbuster’s loss-for-market-share strategy proves to be a success.